2024 Vocations Awareness Supplement
Woman’s remarkable journey in life leads to living ‘a dream that God has for me’
On the day she professed her solemn vows—July 29, 2023—as a Discalced Carmelite sister in Terre Haute, Sister Maria Nguyen holds a booklet featuring a statue of Our Lady of La Vang that was given to her as a gift. She chose to hold the image of Our Lady of La Vang because of her Vietnamese roots and the fact that she grew up with that image and statue in her family’s home. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
Cramming into a wooden boat, the family had tried 13 times to escape from their communist homeland in Vietnam—all in the desire to have the freedom to live their faith and give their children an opportunity for a better life in the United States.
And 13 times they had been turned back by government boats patrolling the sea.
Now under the cover of that night in 1987, the extended family members of 3-year-old Maria Nguyen quietly boarded the boat again. The little girl stayed close to her mother, who had prayed at a nearby shrine of St. Martin de Porres, asking him to intercede with God for their safety and freedom.
This time, the boat slipped past the patrols. Still, the danger was far from over.
Seasickness swept through the family members on the boat. And after days on the sea, they ran out of water, food and gas. As they drifted in waters where pirates preyed, a boat headed toward them.
“Everyone was very scared,” Nguyen says, her recollections aided by the memories of the adults who were in that boat. “But then what can they do? Instead, they turn to God for help in prayer.
“The spirit of prayer and faith was so strong that, even in the midst of weakness and seasickness, all was offered up to God in faith and trust—and in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a spirit of, ‘It’s going to be OK. God will help us.’ And that gave us all so much courage.”
The boat that approached theirs was owned by a fisherman, who befriended the group and towed them to the nearest landing of safety—in the Philippines. Two years later, Nguyen and her family finally made it to America.
At 5 years old, she never imagined that the true journey of her life had just begun, a journey that would eventually lead her to Indiana and the life that she believes God has always wanted for her—a life of faith as a Carmelite sister. (Related: See more stories about religious vocations)
A moment that changed a life
On the verge of her 40th birthday—November 5—Sister Maria says, “The journey out of Vietnam gave me a grand impression of God’s existence in my life and in the life of my family.”
So has the faith of her family, who settled in California upon their arrival in America.
“Throughout my journey, my parents and grandparents played a crucial role in nurturing my faith. Each night, we would gather to pray the rosary together,” she says. “And whenever our family has a need, we all ask St. Martin de Porres for his intercession. And he has never let us down.”
The prayers and petitions were all part of her family’s approach to faith, an approach that centered on a fundamental belief:
“We were all taught that this life is very temporary and that whether we live or die, everything is in God’s hands, so let us not worry,” Sister Maria says. “I know that whatever I aspire to be in life, that if I go for it and if it’s God’s will, then it will happen. But if it is not God’s will, then I might have to sit back and do some more reflection or try something else, but not to give up.”
As that belief has shaped her life, a moment from her childhood has shaped her vocation.
It happened late in her time as an elementary school student when her father drove her home one day. Getting stuck in a traffic jam, she looked out the window and saw a small child walking with her grandfather.
“As they were walking past our car, I could see the big backpack was getting too heavy for the little girl, so her grandfather took the pink backpack off her and swung it on his back. And with the other hand, he pulled out a dinner roll from his pocket for the little girl to eat. Her face was full of joy.
“As they passed by our car, I suddenly felt the love of God the Father on all his children. Tears rolled down my eyes, because I was so touched by what I saw, but more so by what I felt inside of me. It was God loving me at every moment of life, and it was his reminder that he is with me.
“It was a moment of conversion I guess, but ever since then, I felt God’s love calling me to follow him. God’s love called me to pursue religious life so that I can remain in that love which gives me strength and courage in life.”
Yet, just like the journey of her family leaving Vietnam, her path to religious life took time.
Searching for a home for the soul, for a place to belong
After graduating from college in California, she worked at a shelter for homeless families before applying to become a Salesian Sister. But after a year of living and working with that order, she realized it wasn’t her calling.
Two years later, a friend told her about a monastic experience at the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of
St. Joseph in Terre Haute. That weekend in 2014 touched Sister Maria’s soul and led her to request living in the community, even as she struggled with the thought of leaving her family in California.
There were other struggles, too. She says moving into the monastery “was like entering into a new world.”
“I had to put a stop to some of my bad habits like talking too much. I took corrections terribly hard, and I was sensitive, so it made me feel unworthy and discouraged at times. Worst of all, we were given permission to call home only once a month. And we were given only half an hour to talk on the phone. I missed my family so much, especially my mom and dad.”
At the same time, she increasingly felt the sense that she was meant to be part of the Carmelite community.
She began caring for the community’s orchard filled with blueberry bushes, fruit trees and a flower garden. She learned about woodworking, plumbing and fixing the heating and cooling systems. Most of all, she increasingly embraced the spirit and purpose of the community.
“Our ministry is prayer for the Church, for the missionary, for those defending the Church, and for the evangelizers of the faith.
“We pray for the suffering people who go through life with one trial after the next and for all the sick who have recommended themselves to our prayers. I believe that, somehow, our intercession is going to bring some relief to the needs of others. God is so good to us, and he never abandons us, especially during difficulties.”
On the feast of the Assumption in 2018, she made her first profession of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, consecrating her life to God.
“This was a moment of immense joy for me, as my entire family and community friends gathered in the chapel to pray for me,” she says. “I felt great joy to have found a home with the Carmelite sisters. It was a blessing to be able to find a home for your soul, a place to belong and to do what you love to do—to give praise and thanks to Almighty God for his love and mercy.”
Yet as she embraced a new home with the Carmelites, she was also tugged by what was happening in her family’s home in California.
‘My mother gave me the biggest smile’
“After my mother attended my first profession of vows, she started her first treatment of dialysis. From that day onward, her health declined little by little,” Sister Maria recalls. “It was very difficult for me to see her being so sick and not be able to be at home to comfort her and to care for her.”
During the next few years, she was allowed to make one trip home when her mother had surgery to help with her hearing—and another visit as her mother was nearing death.
“My mother gave me the biggest smile when she saw me at home. We hugged each other and didn’t want to let go. My mother had wanted to see me before going home to God. She made sure to tell me that she was so proud of me. Hearing her say that gave me so much courage.
“On October 29, 2022, I was holding my mother’s hand at home with my father, sister, nephew and niece when my mother suddenly opened her eyes and breathed her last very peacefully. My first profession of vows gave my mother such joy that she was ready to go home to God. Her journey was complete seeing me in my Carmelite habit.
“Nine months after my mother’s death, my family flew from California to Terre Haute to witness my solemn profession.”
On that day—July 29, 2023—Sister Maria’s commitment to God became as complete as the trust she put in her mother when they stepped on that boat 37 years ago.
As she looks back on the journey of her life and her vocation to this point, Sister Maria thinks about how far she has come since she was a 3-year-old girl whose family wanted a better life for her.
“I was a little girl on a boat heading toward America, and here I am giving witness to God’s goodness in my life and in the life of the Church,” she says. “The idea of leaving Vietnam was to give the children and grandchildren the opportunity to discover freely what God is calling them to do—and to go for it with full confidence.
“Here I am living my dream, a dream that God has for me.”
(For more information about the Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph in Terre Haute, visit heartsawake.org.) †
